Berate

medium

bih-RAYT

verb

Definition

To scold or criticize someone angrily and at length

Examples

The coach berated the players for their careless mistakes.
She was berated by her supervisor in front of colleagues.

Categories

GRE Tip

Berate is a medium-difficulty GRE word. On the GRE, you might see it paired with synonyms like "castigate" or "upbraid" in Sentence Equivalence questions. Look for contrast clues (however, despite, although) that signal the opposite meaning. Words like "commend".

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